A new report shows home sharing provides economic and social benefits for women hosts around the globe

Today marks International Women’s Day, a global celebration of women’s achievements, from the political to the social. Airbnb is supporting IWD 2017 with a report that highlights the positive impact our platform has on women from around the world.

More locally, in the UK, 56,000 women share their homes on Airbnb with guests from around the world, representing 62% of Airbnb’s host community. Typically, women hosts in the UK make £2,610 a year, and 19% of women hosts use their earnings on Airbnb to help make ends meet.

Home sharing provides economic and social benefits for women hosts around the globe. Mary, a London host, is in her 70’s and has been sharing her spare room since 2014. Hosting doesn’t just empower Mary financially, it also helps her connect with a whole community of women who come to stay in her home.

“Many women come to stay with me and it doesn’t matter where they come from, or what the age difference may be, we always have something in common — we’re women!

I am a world traveller, sometimes going away on my own, so I know what it is like for women being by themselves in a new city. I think it is helpful when I host to reach out and make myself accessible, friendly, and ready to give advice and help when needed. I love sharing London’s secret places with my guests. I have met many wonderful, interesting women and it’s sometimes small things that make you feel connected. A Korean woman was highly amused by a tea cosy that I’d used when I made her a pot of tea. It can be like a mini cultural exchange!

Hosting on Airbnb has given me a new role in life, and having travelled extensively, it now feels that the world is coming to me.”

Airbnb cannot single-handedly tear down the many obstacles to empowerment that women face worldwide. But our platform is powered by a growing worldwide community of women hosts who are connecting with guests, each other, and their local communities.